Quebec bans commercial advertising directed at under-thirteens. The rule surprises brands and it applies to creator video too.
What the rule targets
Three elements serve to assess it, and they combine.
The nature of the product: an item intended for children draws attention faster, but an adult product presented in a childlike register is also concerned.
The manner of presentation: characters, animation, music, language, promise of immediate pleasure, pace of play.
And the context of publication: the moment, the medium and the audience actually reached.
One direct consequence: the rule does not depend on the age box declared in an advertising tool. What counts is what the video is, and who sees it.
How to work all the same
Four approaches remain open, subject to approval.
Speaking to adults, in an adult register: the person who buys, who installs, who tidies up, who compares.
Showing the product with no playful staging: factual information, dimensions, care, safety.
Documenting rather than promising: what is in the box, how it goes together, how long it lasts.
And moving the subject to the parent's need: time saved, bulk, durability, cost per use.
One note on method: these approaches are not workarounds. They only work if the video is genuinely addressed to adults, in its form as much as in its content.
Filming a minor is a second subject
Two distinct questions, often confused.
The first is advertising directed at children, dealt with above.
The second is a minor taking part in a shoot: authorisation from those holding parental authority, working conditions, duration, and use of the image over time. Those rules exist independently of the first and are checked with a lawyer before the shoot.
Three practical precautions, whatever the framework. Written authorisation, signed before the shoot. The duration of image use, written in plain words. And a simple rule on withdrawal: what happens if the family asks for the video to be taken down, decided in advance rather than in a hurry.
The healthy reflex
Three questions to ask before writing the script.
Who does this video really speak to, if you cut the sound and look at the images.
Would a child seeing it understand it as an invitation to ask for the product.
And does the chosen register belong to play or to information.
If any answer hesitates, the script is rewritten before the shoot. That is infinitely cheaper than a campaign withdrawn after publication.
What the rule strictly forbids
| Element | What is ruled out | What remains possible |
|---|---|---|
| The call to buy | Any instruction addressed to the child | Factual information for parents |
| The staging | A child asking for the product | An adult handling the object |
| The wording | A promise of social status | The description of the product |
What is filmed without risk
An adult's hands, the product seen from above, the box contents laid out. The subject is the object, and those shots run anywhere without extra permission.
What is approved before release
The full script, the audience targeting and the ad placement. The rules are strict and vary by medium, to be confirmed with a lawyer.
What it changes in practice
Four concrete effects on the organisation of a campaign.
Legal approval happens at the script, not at the edit: once filmed, a badly aimed video cannot be recovered.
The creator brief becomes more precise: what is forbidden appears in plain words, with examples.
The casting changes: you look for adults talking about a use, not families playing.
And the calendar lengthens a little, for the time of approval. That delay is planned, not discovered the day before.
One last marker, often reassuring: this constraint often produces better videos. Communication addressed to adults is more concrete, better argued, and ages better than a promise of immediate pleasure.
